"Marigold (Mary) Bascombe, the eldest of four sisters, is fiercely determined to keep her family together after her mother dies -- even if it means escaping to England to contact their distant grandfather, the Earl of Stewkesbury. Although their English mother was estranged from her father, they must depend on old family ties to shelter them. But when Mary and her sisters are mugged at the London docks, Sir Royce Winslow -- who knew nothing of an American branch of the family -- stops the thief and helps the damsels in distress"--Page 4 of cover.